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District Attorney asks to renew Box subscription from forfeiture funds; court requests annual forfeiture budget and takes no action
Summary
District Attorney John Warren requested renewal of a Box online file-storage subscription to be paid from asset forfeiture funds. The court was told the contract renewal is roughly $4,800. Commissioners said forfeiture expenditures must be covered by a submitted forfeiture budget and returned the item for a future agenda; no contract was approved.
District Attorney John Warren told the Cooke County Commissioners Court he is seeking to renew a Box online file-storage subscription and asked the court to allow the expense to come from asset forfeiture funds. Warren said the county’s OneDrive system is full and that Box hosts files already used by the office.
Warren initially cited an amount of $4,715.52 but then presented a contract showing the renewal cost as $4,800. The DA said the subscription is needed to help the office comply with records and file-access needs and to maintain in-house file storage. He said the item would not require county general-fund expenditure because the DA intended to use asset forfeiture funds.
County staff and commissioners questioned budget procedure and whether the forfeiture account had an existing budget line for this expenditure. Court staff said the forfeiture account currently had about $1,000 budgeted and explained that expenditures from forfeiture funds must be included in an annual forfeiture budget submitted to the court. Commissioners emphasized that, while forfeiture funds can be used for certain office needs, the county cannot approve spending that has not been budgeted and recorded.
After discussion the court did not approve the contract renewal. Instead commissioners directed the District Attorney to prepare and submit an annual forfeiture budget listing planned forfeiture expenditures, then return the contract request with a budget amendment and the spending request. The DA asked whether the item could be placed on the next agenda; commissioners agreed the DA should return with the required budget paperwork. A renewal deadline of October 27 was referenced in the discussion, and staff noted the account currently lacks the necessary budgeted amount for the $4,800 renewal.
Quotes from the meeting were limited to participants in the DA item. John Warren, District Attorney, summarized the request and the amount discrepancy: "The amount here, $4.47 $15.52, I gave Chelsea the wrong amount. I have the contract here. It is $4,800 even." Court staff and commissioners did not move to approve the contract pending receipt of a properly submitted forfeiture budget.
Next steps: the District Attorney will prepare and submit an annual forfeiture budget that includes the Box subscription request, and the court will consider the contract after the budget amendment and formal spending request are on a future agenda.
